How Many Wills of God?

Here's the John Piper article referenced in our study on Decision Making and the Will of God. Below is a short snippet.

The most compelling example of God's willing for sin to come to pass while at the same time disapproving the sin is his willing the death of his perfect, divine Son. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas was a morally evil act inspired immediately by Satan (Luke 22:3). Yet in Acts 2:23 Luke says, "This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan (boule) and foreknowledge of God." The betrayal was sin, and it involved the instrumentality of Satan; but it was part of God's ordained plan. That is, there is a sense in which God willed the delivering up of his Son, even though the act was sin.

Fall Book Study

This fall we will be going through Gary Friesen's book, Decision Making and the Will of God. You can find out more about the author and sample the first two chapters of this book at his website, gfriesen.net.

It'd be ideal to secure your own copy of this book for our study, but even if you don't, you'll still benefit greatly from the weekly teaching.

Also, remember that the first Thursday of each month will be a special, off-site fellowship night. We'll announce the location each month.

Who are You to Judge?

On July 2nd we looked at Paul's command to stop judging one another found in Romans 14. From this chapter we considered five principles to keep us from sinfully judging:

1. Welcome the Weak
2. Make Up Your Mind
3. Build Up the Believers
4. Firm Up Your Faith
5. Glorify God

Listen to the message on judging:

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Part 2 on this subject of judging was taught on July 16 from 1 Corinthians 4. Listen to "Who are You to Judge (Pt 2)" below. (lest you get confused, the opening illustration for Part 2 is the same one used in Part 1)

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Internal Power for Lasting Patience in External Pressure

Jason Vaden was our guest speaker Thursday night and took us through Ephesians 4:1-3 as we considered how to bear with one another.

His message, entitled, "Internal Power for Lasting Patience in External Pressure" had three basic points:

1. Enduring Patience in External Pressure
2. Internal Power for Enduring Patience
3. The Eternal Person of Internal Power

Jason spoke some challenging words as he showed us how humility is the internal power for enduring patience.

Listen to Jason's message

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California is a long way to go for this year's Resolved Conference. But now you can watch LIVE for FREE! You must register first, but that's free too.

Admonish One Another

Continuing in our "One Another" series, here is "Admonish One Another" from Romans 15:14 as well as a list of other "admonish" verses found in the New Testament.

Romans 15:14
Acts 20:31
1 Corinthians 4:14
Colossians 1:28
Colossians 3:16
1 Thessalonians 5:12
1 Thessalonians 5:14
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15

We learned that "admonish" is in the Greek as "noutheteo", meaning "to set in one's mind" and carries the idea of addressing another believer with the Word of God. Though often coupled with teaching, admonition always implies a problem or something that is wrong in the life of the one being confronted.

Jay Adams is probably best known for coining the term "Nouthetic Counseling" and has a good summary of this here.

Listen to "Admonish One Another"

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One Another Passages

Here is a pretty exhaustive list of all the New Testament "one another" passages that we quickly looked at Thursday night. As we take a closer look at a dozen of these this summer at 2.22, perhaps you can use this as a supplemental personal study.

Be of the same mind	Romans 12:16; 15:5
Build up	Romans 14:19; 1 Thess 5:11
Be at peace	Romans 14:19
Receive/accept	Romans 15:7
Admonish/comfort	Romans 15:14; 1 Thess 4:18; 5:11
Greet	Romans 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14
Care	1 Cor 12:25
Serve	Galatians 5:13
Bear burdens	Gal 6:2
Forbear, be patient	Eph 4:2; Col 3:13
Be kind	Eph 4:32
Submit	Eph 5:21
Esteem highly	Phil 2:3
Forgive	Col 3:13
Seek the good	1 Thess 5:15
Stimulat	Heb 10:24
Confess sins	James 5:16
Pray for	James 5:16
Be hospitable	1 Peter 4:9
Be humble	1 Peter 5:5
Fellowship in the light	1 John 1:7
Do not owe anything but love	Romans 13:8
Do not Judge	Romans 14:13
Do not devour/consume	Gal 5:15
Do not provoke/challenge	Gal 5:26
Do not envy	Gal 5:26
Do not lie	Col 3:9
Do not hate	Titus 3:3
Do not speak against/complain	James 4:11; 5:9

This list was taken from Richard Mayhue's book, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Focus on the Bible Commentaries).

One Another: Love One Another

Listen to the introduction and first message of our summer series, "One Another."

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Summer Teaching Series

Please join us beginning this Thursday at 6:30pm as we embark on a summer study of the "one another" passages in the New Testament. Aaron will kick off the study in John 13 with Jesus' high calling of mutual love.

Family behavior in the body of Christ starts with ‘Love one another’. Our Lord told the disciples, By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).
The epistles refer to this overarching principle more than ten times (Rom 12:10; 13:8: 1 Thess 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thess 1:3; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11; 2 John 5).
From this general statement, the epistles then specifically explain the various features of ‘one another’ ministry in the church. They are numerous and, in general, self explanatory.
~Richard Mayhue, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Triumphs and Trials of a Consecrated Church; Christian Focus, 2003

We'll be meeting in the student ministries room at the Bible Church of Little Rock for fellowship at 6:30, then our worship thru singing & preaching will begain promptly at 7:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jeff's Announcement

Greetings 2.22,

If you weren't there on Sunday, Judy and I announced that I have just received and accepted the call to be the senior pastor of Anchorage Grace Church. That's right Anchorage, Alaska. We believe the Lord has directed this decision and given us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4). We just didn't know Alaska was our heart's desire until God opened this opportunity up for us!

Allow me to express my deep gratitude for the part you played at 2.22 and in our lives. It has been our humble and unique privilege to minister the Word to you through teaching and personal discipleship. The Lord has taught us valuable lessons through 2.22 - lessons that will carry over to Anchorage Grace Church. I count your impact on our lives as what in large measure is launching us on this new adventure. So thank you!

As you know, Aaron and Anita have been the glue and gasoline for 2.22 for a long time! So, it is my joy to report that Aaron will take the lead for 2.22 this summer. Here's the plan, Lord willing: There will be no regular Thursday night meetings in May, but there will still be a couple of opportunities for fellowship, including a movie night at Elizabeth Howell's home. Then in June, Aaron will be leading a study during the summer months - with the help of a few "guest" speakers - that I trust will be a blessing to you all. There will also be the monthly fellowship opportunities.

The May events, summer study and fellowship opportunities will all be announced via email & the blog very soon.

We love you and will miss you. Grace and peace,

Jeff

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Welcome Owen Charles Crotts

Join me in giving thanks to God for the newest addition to the Crotts family...

...Owen Charles Crotts
See more pics at the Crotts' Blog

Sale at Sovereign Grace Books & Music

Check it out.

Pastor Jeff - Bible Conference Audio

Last weekend Pastor Jeff Crotts had the privilege of preaching at a Bible Conference in El Paso, Texas on the topic of Holy Spirit Illumination. The conference was hosted by Grace Bible Fellowship and his long-time friend, Bill Cross, who's the associate pastor. Many of you have heard Jeff talk about Bill Cross in his many childhood stories. Jeff & Bill came to know the Lord around the same time and have remained friends for many years.

Below are the mp3 links to all four of Jeff's messages, including a Q & A session. Just click on any link to open or download to your PC.

Enjoy!

Illumination pt. 1

Illumination pt. 2

Illumination pt. 3

Illumination Q and A

Immediate Action - TOR17

Welcome to the new year of 2009! With the beginning of a new year is the beginning of a few new changes for 2.22. We had our first fellowship of the year on our new Thursday night venue. We're still meeting at 6:30pm with a 30 minute meal/fellowship time, however we will no longer have planned meals each week. You may still bring something on your own and use this time to eat & visit with others. We're now meeting up in the Student Ministries room.

Pastor Jeff jumped back into our ongoing study of the book of Acts entitled "The Original Revolution" (TOR) and looked at the immediate actions of Paul & the church after his radical conversion. We were challenged to pursue Christ with the same passion many of us had immediately after our own conversions.

Below you'll find Jeff's outline and the mp3 audio from his message. You can find all the previous TOR messages here.

“Immediate Action” (Acts 9:19-31)

In these verses we'll see 4 immediate actions of the early church, triggered by the Gospel. Is the Gospel triggering action in your walk?

1. Paul immediately preached in Damascus (vv. 20-25)

2. Paul was immediately protected by the disciples (vv. 23-25)

3. Paul was immediately promoted by Barnabas (vv. 26-27)

4. Paul immediately preached in Jerusalem (vv. 28-31)

Take-Home Points:

1. Why preach – when and where?
2. Why does our Gospel fire cool in our hearts so quickly?
3. Are you being strategic with your life?
4. Are you being controlled by fear?

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